Fabrication for Transition Metal Diborides Using Spark Plasma Sintering Method

Transition metal diborides with an AlB2-type structure exhibit excellent mechanical properties, wear resistance, and high temperature stability. For example, TiB2 has excellent mechanical and wear resistance properties. However, the preparation of pure, dense, sintered transition metal diborides is difficult, as high temperatures, high pressure, and sintering aids are required in the sintering process. In this study, we applied spark plasma sintering (SPS), a powder metallurgy technique that enables rapid sintering via Joule heat generated by an electric current. We fabricated (Ti, M)B2 diboride solid solutions (M = V, Mo, W, etc.) by means of SPS. The X-ray diffraction results verified the AlB2-type structure of the prepared (Ti, M)B2 solid solutions.